ZEW Discussion Papers

This paper incorporates the cost of adjustment between observed and optimal leverage in explaining the variation in firm’s equity or bank-debt financing investments. Using a dynamic adjustment approach…

Based on a large data set containing information on occupations between 1979 and 1999, this study explores the “black box” surrounding the skill–biased technological change hypothesis by analyzing the mechanisms…

Environmental regulations often want to stimulate the generation and adoption of ecoefficient innovations. An important argument in the public debate is also the creation of new markets for environmentally…

This paper compares predictions obtained for the analysis of tax reforms with collective and unitary models of household labour supply and consumption behaviour. We simulate real world microdata by means of a…

The systemic risk potential in the European banking market has increased. Hence, the following questions emerge: Is there a need for a truly European supervisory framework? And, how should a potential European…

Exploiting the unique economic situation after German unification, I investigate how exit decisions deviate between new firms in a transition and a comparatively stable market environment. Two competing exit…

When we analyse the labour market consequences of labour tax reforms in a model of firm-union wage bargaining, minor changes in the formulation of the union`s fallback option can have drastic effects. This…

In order to assess the productivity effects of information and communication technologies (ICT), regressions based on cross–sectional firm–level data may yield unreliable results for the commonly employed…

The system of banking supervision in Europe is undergoing substantial reforms. According to Stigler's capture theory regulation often follows the preferences of producers. Therefore, the interests of the…